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Stop the press!! There is a new prescription lens in town and it’s taking the optical industry by storm. It is, of course, the new varifocal design that’s promised to change the way we buy multi-focal glasses in the future. This new technology now allows for more accurate calculations to made when producing these varifocal lenses – they call it 3D surfacing and it’s already been hailed by some lens technicians as a watershed in the history of prescription glasses and varifocal lenses. This new technology allow the wear to easily adapt into a multi-focal lens without the headache of getting accustomed to the peripheral distortion that generic varifocal lenses accommodate. Unfortunately, I have yet to come accross any online glasses retailers offering this new technology but I’m sure that in time these new varifocals will be available through the top established online retailers for a fraction of the cost that high street opticians are selling them for. I was quoted by my local high street chain at £260 for a mid range free form varifocal lens from Essilor – I’d hate to think just how much a premium Ziess or Nikon lens would cost!!

If you need glasses for both distance and reading then you may have tried varifocal glasses in the past. If you have then you will know all too well that these lenses can some time to adapt to because of the amount of distortion you experience around the peripheral sides of the lenses. This has put alot of people off buying varifocals in the past and has also led to problems with existing patients having to adapt from one brand to another. Although these problems still exist with older designs of varifocal glasses, don’t let that put off buying the latest ground-breaking design of varifocal lenses. The Varifocal glasses industry is going through some significant changes at the moment thanks to the introduction of freeform varifocal lens surfacing technology. The transition to freeform technology is going to be a watershed in the history of prescription glasses, much like the transition from bifocals to the original varifocals lenses.

The freeform varifocal range uses the latest advances in Ophthalmic prescription lens production – with CNC (computer numerically controlled) technology the surface is numerically controlled during the cutting and polishing process and the speed and positioning of the cutting tool is monitored with micrometric precision. Sorry if I just blinded you with a bit of opticial science but these lenses really are making an impact on the prescription lens industry. This new technology eliminates all the disadvantages of traditional production methods . Free-Form optimized varifocal glasses will ensure the patient experiences the widest fields of vision in comparison to the older, traditional varifocal lens manufacturing, as much as 50% larger viewing zones will be achieved with freeform technology.

All the world wide major Prescription lens manufactures including Essilor, Nikon and Ziess have now incorporated the new freeform technology into their manufacturing plants and are only now becoming available from online glasses retailers. The advantages of freeform varifocal glasses are evident from the huge amount of customer feedback the optical industry has received over the past year since this technology became available . The lenses are much easier to adapt to because of their smooth transition and wider fields of vision.

Freeform varifocal glasses really are the next big thing in varifocal design but they also carry a heavy price tag with high street opticians offering them from £170 – £450. They are, however becoming available online and I will be reviewing the top 3 freeform lenses available over the internet later this month and finding the best bargain buys when purchasing your freeform lenses online.